Campaigners once again calling for a bypass at Annesley and Kirkby

A group campaigning for a bypass and road safety improvements to a major Ashfield road has been reformed.

Campaigners are setting up a new version of the The A611 STAG (Safety and Traffic Action Group) to oppose planned new junctions on the A611 Derby Road through Kirkby and Annesley.

Co-ordinator of the group John Nurse said: “During 2017, it became obvious that Nottinghamshire County Council is once again looking to alter junctions along the A611 Derby Road through Kirkby and Annesley.

“They say this is to relieve the existing congestion.

“Our investigations into current traffic flows and future traffic predictions show that an inevitable consequence will be additional traffic, but still with serious congestion.

“We have a considerable amount of research to back this up. Consequently, a decision has been made to reconstitute A611 STAG.”

The proposed aim of A611 STAG is to campaign for improved road safety, to seek a reduction in traffic on the roads and to lobby for a bypass which campaigners say is the only solution which will benefit both through traffic and local residents.

The group will monitor the traffic situation and ask for changes to roads, junctions, plans and proposals where these appear to be needed to improve safety.

Mr Nurse said A611 STAG has already made representation on two major planning applications in the area. and will work in cooperation with local councils and organisations through “constructive discussion”.

Anyone interested in the group and its objectives can contact him at john_nurse@ntlworld.com

He said at present the group would be directed by six people on an email committee.

The group has already established close contact with ACCESS, a group representing the broader interests of Annesley Woodhouse residents.

A611 STAG was initially set up in 2003 in opposition to Nottinghamshire County Council’s proposed bus priority measures, which were eventually dropped. It followed on from a group called Save Annesley For Everyone, (SAFE) which campaigned from the early 1980s against traffic and road widening schemes and also called for a bypass.